Immaterial Geography brings together an unpredictable (or so some might think) selection of works by three contemporary artists. Manuel Santos Maia conceived the curation of this exhibition around the theme of the freedom of images. Three distinct discourses converge when their visual realisation is driven by the desire to exist solely in a world where, at times, they are required to provide a reason or permission for their existence. They coexist in the same space, plural and democratic. “They [the images] are neither strange nor foreign to us, risking a minimal existence by not claiming to have the capacity or strength to impose themselves upon others...” (in the curator’s words).

Through the photographic record of previous actions, Nuno Ramalho appropriates images he has created himself and transforms them. Between form and formlessness, present both in the human body and in the very plasticity of the materials—and of the sponge in particular—cut-out figures are (re)constructed and suspended.

We observe a body, torn apart, faceless, without identity. As if “engaged in a struggle with itself”, the body attacks and protects itself simultaneously. The artist’s critical dialogue with the work, the constant inner conflict and the universal struggle resulting from the traps each of us sets for ourselves, only to try, immediately afterwards, to break our fall. Or perhaps a dance between two people, two selves perhaps – they hover in the air and allow themselves to be guided by the stimuli they receive from outside, from those passing by, from the wind that blows, or from the occasional music someone might dare to play.

The idea of continuity and movement is present, through the sequence of images placed side by side or in contrast, provoking unexpected interpretations. Photography, which was previously dependent on reality, now departs from it, gaining a new dimension through the triumph of surrealism over the imaginary.

In Sérgio Leitão’s work, the figure dissolves into patches of colour, more or less illuminated, giving way to abstract landscapes. It is through the assemblage of objects, drawn from the artist’s personal archive and related to the venue where he exhibits them, that we perceive ‘the astonishing reality of things’. Sometimes superimposed, sometimes side by side, the images impose no hierarchies; they coexist in harmony because, together, they tell stories. There is a permanence to the images, even though they are subject to change – they exist in potential, as they are open to countless possibilities.

Each arrangement of objects is created in situ, as is only to be expected, since the work engages directly with the space in which it is situated. 

However, it is precisely this processual work, commonly carried out in the studio, that is presented to us in its raw form, as an integral part of the work.

On the other hand, the futuristic cut-outs and iconographic drawings, which evoke the graphic style of comic books, relate to André Sousa’s paintings, where energy is represented by one, or several, lightning bolts. A white, serene cloud gives rise to something indomitable, defined by strong, contrasting colours: the lightning bolt, which “both impresses with its beauty and kills.”

It is framed by boundaries that attempt to contain it, but fail. It is as if an attempt were being made to control something that would be impossible – an overwhelming atmospheric and energetic phenomenon captured and caged within a two-dimensional medium. The artist challenges the viewer’s gaze and imagination, inviting them to complete the drawing. As we look at the images, we hear a clap of thunder, which synesthetically pierces our thoughts.

Often symbolically associated with the fury of Nature or the power and order of some Father-God, it is here represented in a colour palette that unfolds between darker and lighter tones, lending a certain irony and lightness to the image and the characterisation of this sign.

The idea of structure is a common thread running through the work of the three artists, who explore the concept in various ways. Sérgio Leitão organises his compositions in rows, punctuated by small windows of light and colour, which contrast with the black or white backgrounds. On the other hand, André Sousa plays with the limits of the medium, challenging, on a compositional level, the idea of finitude; the drawing of the lightning bolt extends beyond the canvas’s borders. The perfectly structured red grid on the sheet of Chinese paper forms the basis for the successive attempts at calligraphic drawing; in contrast to the cotton canvases, where this framework is almost imperceptible, due to the rough and subtle folds of the canvas itself.

The grid on the sheet of paper that adorns the “frame” of Nuno Ramalho’s sculpture, however, is meticulously filled in by hand. Patterns are created which, to a less attentive eye, might be perceived as automatic in the sense that they could have been produced by a machine. What is surprising is precisely the time and care invested in the detailed development of the design/pattern. The shading present in certain constituent elements, the varying pressures applied when applying the ink to the paper, and the occasional imperfections that detract from the perfection of the repeated line are what elevate the whole.

If geography is the science that studies and interrelates the physical and human aspects of the Earth’s surface (the configuration of a given space) and the concept of the ‘immaterial’ refers to that which is incorporeal and intangible – we might think of this exhibition ‘immaterial geography’ as the language of the world (or worlds), 

through the hand of man and his spirituality (the nature of the “spirit”, which relates to thought or the mind; which indirectly represents a thing or an idea).

Leonor Guerreiro Queiroz

Programme

Guided tour with Leonor Guerreiro Queiroz

25 September | 2.30 pm

26 September | 11 am

Leonor Guerreiro Queiroz in conversation with the curator and Sérgio Leitão

27 September | 11 am

Leonor Guerreiro Queiroz in conversation with the curator and Nuno Ramalho

9 October | 3.00 pm

CREDITS

Directed by Manuela Matos Monteiro and João Lafuente

Artistic Director Manuel Santos Maia

Gallery Assistant Luísa Rosas da Silva